Lec U5017B, User Manual

14

Preparations for Freezing

• 

Use

quality

food

and

handle

it

as

little

as

possible.

Freeze

food

in

small

quantities

as

it

freez

es 

faster,

takes

less

time

to

defrost

and

enables

you

to

control

the

quantity

you

need

better.

• 

Leave

cooked

food

to

cool

completely.

Chill

food

before

freezing

if

possible.

• 

Consider

how

you

will

want

to

cook

the

food

before

freezing

it.

• 

Don’t

freeze

food

in

metal

containers

if

you

may

want

to

microwave

it

straight

from

 the 

freezer.

• 

Use

special

freezer

bags,

freezer

film,

polythene

bags,

plastic

containers,

and

aluminium

f

oil 

(heavy

duty

grade

only).

If

in

doubt,

double

wrap

your

food.

Don’t

use

aluminium

foil

f

or 

acidic

foods,

e.g.

citrus

fruits.

Don’t

use

thin

cling

film,

glass,

or

used

food

containers

 without 

cleaning.

• 

Exclude

as

much

air

from

the

container

as

possible.

You

could

buy

a

special

vacuum

 pump 

which

sucks

excessive

air

out

of

the

packaging.

• 

Leave

a

small

amount

of

air

space

when

freezing

liquids

to

allow

expansion.

• 

You

can

use

the

space

in

the

freezer

most

efficiently

if

you

freez

e 

liquids

(or

solids

with

liquids,

e.g.

stew)

in

square

blocks.

This

is

kno

wn 

as

“Preforming”.

Pour

the

liquid

into

a

polythene

bag

which

is

inside

 a 

square

sided

container.

Freeze

it,

and

then

remove

it

from

the

con

tainer 

and

seal

the

bag.

• 

Label

your

frozen

foods

as

they

will

look

the

same

when

in

frozen

state

. 

Use

special

freezer

tapes,

labels

and

pens

with

different

colours.

T

his 

allows

you

to

easily

organise

and

to

effectively

use

the

freezer.

Write

 the 

contents

and

date;

otherwise

the

frozen

food

might

exceed

the

stor

age 

time

and

this

could

cause

food

poisoning.

Please

refer

to

your

f

ood 

packaging

for

the

recommended

storage

time.

You

may

also

add

the

weight

and

cooking

notes,

e.g.

“defrost

first”,

“cook

from

frozen”

and

 keep 

a

separate

log

of

what

is

in

each

drawer.

This

will

save

opening

the

door

and

searching

ar

ound 

unnecessarily.

Defrosting Frozen Food

1.

Take

the

frozen

food

out

from

the

unit

and

uncover

the

frozen

food.

Let

it

defrost

at

r

oom 

temperature.

Don’t

forget

that

defrosting

in

a

warm

area

encourages

the

growth

of

bacter

ia 

and

low

temperature

cooking

may

not

destroy

dangerous

bacteria.

2.

Drain

off

and

throw

away

any

liquid

lost

during

defrosting.

3.

Always

make

sure

there

are

no

ice-crystals

in

the

food

before

cooking,

particularly

with

meat

. 

These

crystals

indicate

that

the

food

has

not

fully

defrosted.

4.

Cook

food

as

soon

as

possible

after

defrosting.

5.

Many

microwaves

and

ovens

have

a

defrost

setting.

To

avoid

bacterial

build

up,

only

 use 

these

if

you

intend

to

cook

the

food

immediately

afterwards.

Never

re-freeze

anything

that

has

been

defrosted

unless

you

cook

it

again,

to

kill

off

har

mful 

bacteria.

Never

re-freeze

defrosted

shellfish.

Re-seal

packs

properly

after

removing

items.

T

his 

prevents

drying

or

freezer-burn

and

a

build

up

of

frost

on

any

remaining

food.